2019 CAF Champions League final

The 2019 CAF Champions League Final was the final of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League, the 55th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 23rd edition under the current CAF Champions League title.

2019 CAF Champions League Final

ES Tunis were declared champions after second leg was abandoned in Radès Stadium.
Event	2018–19 CAF Champions League
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis 1 2
First leg
Wydad AC Espérance de Tunis 1 1
Date	24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)
Venue	Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
Referee	Gehad Grisha (Egypt)
Second leg
Espérance de Tunis Wydad AC 1 0
Match abandoned[note 1]
Date	31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)
Venue	Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis
Referee	Bakary Gassama (Gambia)
← 2018 2020 →

The final was originally contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Wydad AC from Morocco and defending champions Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia. The first leg was hosted by Wydad AC at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on 24 May 2019, while the second leg was hosted by Espérance de Tunis at the Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis on 31 May 2019.^[1]

Espérance de Tunis were initially declared winners following a refusal by Wydad AC to resume play following an issue with VAR, though CAF later ruled the second leg must be replayed in a neutral venue to decide the champions. However, the decision to order a replay was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who told the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision, and on 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were declared winners for a second time. As winners, they earned the right to play in the 2020 CAF Super Cup and the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.

Teams

In the following table, finals until 1996 were in the African Cup of Champions Club era, since 1997 were in the CAF Champions League era.

Team	Zone	Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Wydad AC	UNAF (North Africa)	3 (1992, 2011, 2017)
Espérance de Tunis	UNAF (North Africa)	7 (1994, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018)

Venues

Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco hosted the first leg.

Stade Olympique de Radès in Tunis, Tunisia, hosted the second leg.

Road to the final

Further information: 2018–19 CAF Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

Wydad AC				Round	Espérance de Tunis
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg	Qualifying rounds	Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
ASC Diaraf	3–3 (a)	2–0 (H)	1–3 (A)	First round	Bye
Opponent	Result			Group stage	Opponent	Result
ASEC Mimosas	5–2 (H)			Matchday 1	Horoya	1–1 (A)
Mamelodi Sundowns	1–2 (A)			Matchday 2	FC Platinum	2–0 (H)
Lobi Stars	1–0 (A)			Matchday 3	Orlando Pirates	0–0 (A)
Lobi Stars	0–0 (H)			Matchday 4	Orlando Pirates	2–0 (H)
ASEC Mimosas	0–2 (A)			Matchday 5	Horoya	2–0 (H)
Mamelodi Sundowns	1–0 (H)			Matchday 6	FC Platinum	2–1 (A)
Group A winners Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Wydad AC 6 10 2 Mamelodi Sundowns 6 10 3 Lobi Stars 6 7 4 ASEC Mimosas 6 7 Source: CAF				Final standings	Group B winners Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Espérance de Tunis 6 14 2 Horoya 6 10 3 Orlando Pirates 6 6 4 FC Platinum 6 2 Source: CAF
Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg	Knockout stage	Opponent	Agg.	1st leg	2nd leg
Horoya	5–0	0–0 (A)	5–0 (H)	Quarter-finals	CS Constantine	6–3	3–2 (A)	3–1 (H)
Mamelodi Sundowns	2–1	2–1 (H)	0–0 (A)	Semi-finals	TP Mazembe	1–0	1–0 (H)	0–0 (A)

Format

The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs determined by the knockout stage draw, which was held on 20 March 2019, 20:00 CAT (UTC+2), at the Marriot Hotel in Cairo, Egypt.^[2][3]

If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would have been applied, and if still tied, extra time would not have been played, and a penalty shoot-out would have been used to determine the winner.^[1]

Matches

First leg

Wydad AC	1–1	Espérance de Tunis
Comara 79'	Report	Coulibaly 44'

24 May 2019 (2019-05-24)

22:00 UTC+0

Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat

Attendance: 50,000

Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

Wydad AC[4]

Espérance de Tunis[4]

GK 26 Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti RB 28 Abdelatif Noussir CB 3 Achraf Dari  28' CB 29 Cheick Comara LB 22 Ayoub El Amloud  77' RM 7 Mohamed Ounajem CM 4 Salaheddine Saidi CM 6 Brahim Nekkach (c)  42'  49' LM 11 Ismail El Haddad CF 18 Walid El Karti  63' CF 9 Michael Babatunde  62' Substitutes: GK 12 Badreddine Benachour DF 8 Badr Gaddarine  77' MF 21 Zouhair El Moutaraji MF 24 Yahya Jabrane  63' FW 17 Badie Aouk FW 20 Ayman El Hassouni  90+4'  62' FW 25 Gabriel Okechukwu Manager: Faouzi Benzarti

GK 1 Moez Ben Cherifia  84' RB 22 Sameh Derbali  68' CB 5 Chamseddine Dhaouadi  23' CB 12 Khalil Chemmam (c) LB 20 Ayman Ben Mohamed CM 30 Franck Kom  87' CM 15 Fousseny Coulibaly RW 8 Anice Badri AM 25 Ghailene Chaalali  26' LW 10 Youcef Belaïli  90+5' CF 29 Junior Lokosa  88' Substitutes: GK 23 Ali Jemal DF 6 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi DF 26 Houcine Rabii MF 17 Hamdou Elhouni  90+5' MF 18 Saad Bguir  87' MF 28 Mohamed Amine Meskini FW 11 Taha Yassine Khenissi  88' Manager: Moïne Chaâbani

Assistant referees:[4] Waleed Ahmed (Sudan) Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria) Fourth official:[4] Bernard Camille (Seychelles)

Match rules[1] 90 minutes. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

Second leg

Espérance de Tunis	Abandoned at the result 1–0[note 1]	Wydad AC
Belaïli 41'	Report

31 May 2019 (2019-05-31)

22:00 UTC+1

Stade Olympique de Radès, Tunis

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

Espérance de Tunis[10]

Wydad AC[4]

GK 19 Rami Jridi RB 22 Sameh Derbali CB 6 Mohamed Ali Yacoubi CB 12 Khalil Chemmam (c) LB 20 Ayman Ben Mohamed CM 15 Fousseny Coulibaly  10' CM 30 Franck Kom RW 8 Anice Badri AM 18 Saad Bguir LW 10 Youcef Belaïli  42'  61' CF 11 Taha Yassine Khenissi Substitutes: GK 23 Ali Jemal DF 24 Iheb Mbarki DF 26 Houcine Rabii MF 17 Hamdou Elhouni  61' MF 28 Mohamed Amine Meskini FW 14 Haythem Jouini FW 29 Junior Lokosa Manager: Moïne Chaâbani

GK 26 Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti RB 28 Abdelatif Noussir (c) CB 30 Mohamed Nahiri CB 29 Cheick Comara LB 22 Ayoub El Amloud DM 4 Salaheddine Saidi RM 11 Ismail El Haddad CM 18 Walid El Karti CM 24 Yahya Jabrane LM 17 Badie Aouk CF 20 Ayman El Hassouni Substitutes: GK 12 Badreddine Benachour DF 8 Badr Gaddarine MF 2 Anas El Asbahi MF 9 Michael Babatunde MF 21 Zouhair El Moutaraji FW 19 Amin Tighazoui FW 25 Gabriel Okechukwu Manager: Faouzi Benzarti

Assistant referees: Djibril Camara (Senegal) El Hadji Samba (Senegal) Fourth official: Joshua Bondo (Botswana)

Match rules[1] 90 minutes. Penalty shoot-out if tied on aggregate and away goals. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.

See also

• 2019 CAF Confederation Cup Final
• 2020 CAF Super Cup

Notes

1. With the score 1–0 in favor of Espérance de Tunis in the 59th minute, Walid El Karti scored a goal for Wydad AC which was subsequently ruled offside by the linesman. Due to a failure of the video assistant referee system, a review of the decision could not be conducted. Believing the goal was valid, Wydad AC protested the decision and the match was interrupted. After 80 minutes of stoppage, the referee ruled the match as a forfeit by Wydad AC and awarded to Espérance de Tunis, securing them the CAF Champions League title.^[5] However, on 5 June 2019 the CAF Executive Committee ordered a replay of the second leg at a neutral venue, requiring Espérance de Tunis to return the trophy and medals.^[6] However, the decision to order a replay of the second leg was thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 31 July 2019, who required CAF to refer the case to its proper disciplinary structures for a decision.^[7] On 7 August 2019, Espérance de Tunis were again officially declared champions after the CAF Disciplinary Board ruled that Wydad AC "is considered to have lost the game in the 2nd leg."^[8] On 18 September 2020, CAS dismissed Wydad AC's appeal over the final and confirmed Espérance de Tunis as champions.^[9]